Abstract: Saul bellow is valued as an outstanding contemporary American writer after Hemingway and Faulkner who is awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for “the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work”. Of all his works, Henderson the Rain King has been very popular among readers and critics for its special artistic skills and profound realistic significance. It is a story of a millionaire who is bothered by the strong desire of the spiritual and material world, beaks away from his comfortable life and goes to Africa to seek the truth of life. It excels for its profound theme, ingenious plot, fanciful imagination and the author’s singular writing skills. Based on the existing studies on Bellow’s writing styles, plots and themes, this paper makes an analysis on the writing skills employed in Henderson the Rain King from the two perspectives of characterization and presentation of environment. The study is done to appreciate the artistic expression for a better understanding of the novel in terms of literature value and realistic significance.  

Key words: Saul Bellow; Henderson the Rain King; writing skill; characterization; presentation of the environment

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Saul Bellow and the Novel-1

1.2 Theme of the Paper-2

2. Review of Related Studies-3

2.1 Studies on Saul Bellow-3

2.2 Studies on Henderson the Rain King-5

3. Analysis on the Characterization of the Protagonists-6

3.1 Appearances of the Characters-7

3.2 Actions of the Characters-10

3.3 Languages of the Characters-11

3.4 Psychology of the Characters-12

4. Analysis on Presentation of The Environment-14

4.1 The Social Setting-15

4.2 The Natural Setting-16

5.-Conclusion-22

References-23